Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08NASSAU591
2008-08-14 22:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nassau
Cable title:  

LABOR UNREST ROCKS BAHAMAS

Tags:  PGOV ELAB BF 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBH #0591/01 2272241
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 142241Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5668
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 000591 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV ELAB BF
SUBJECT: LABOR UNREST ROCKS BAHAMAS

REF: 07 NASSAU 268

Classified By: DCM Zuniga Brown for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L NASSAU 000591

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV ELAB BF
SUBJECT: LABOR UNREST ROCKS BAHAMAS

REF: 07 NASSAU 268

Classified By: DCM Zuniga Brown for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) SUMMARY: Labor unrest broke the summer lull on three
Bahamian islands in the past week and brought the capital,s
central avenue to an unexpected standstill mid-morning August

11. A union-sanctioned strike at Morton Salt on Great Inagua
August 8 caused management to cease operations indefinitely;
$20,000 salt pumps were fire-bombed. In Nassau, surprise
demonstrations by telecoms workers shut down the main tourist
street August 11 and were followed by similar action in the
center of Freeport, Grand Bahama August 12. Telecom
management obtained a court injunction against further work
stoppages. Immediate government reaction was muted, perhaps
in light of the Prime Minister being on vacation. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
STRIKE CLOSES EMBATTLED MORTON SALT OPERATION
--------------

2. (U) Unionized workers at Morton Salt Company,s operation
on Great Inagua Island, in the extreme south of the island
chain, went on strike August 8 three weeks after a strike
vote. Management announced the indefinite suspension of
operations the same day. Workers reportedly struck in
protest at the firing of a master electrician (also the union
vice-president). Union representatives were unhappy with
Morton,s referral of the dispute to the independent
Industrial Tribunal. Critical salt water pumps, worth
$20,000 each, were firebombed. Minister of Labor Dion
Foulkes travelled to the island to mediate August 11. The
strike came at a bad time for Morton Salt, which has yet to
recover from production difficulties associated with
unusually rainy weather last year. Union-management
relations at the plant, which employs the majority of the
island,s workers, have been rocky (reftel). Morton is the
sole major employer on the island, which also hosts the
OPBAT/U.S. Coast Guard base.

-------------- ---
TELECOMS WORKERS DEMONSTRATE IN NASSAU, FREEPORT
-------------- ---

3. (U) A couple of hundred workers from the state-owned
telecoms monopoly, BTC, protested against on-going the
company,s privatization by parking company vehicles in the
middle of Bay Street - Nassau,s main tourist and commercial
thoroughfare. Mid-morning traffic and commerce came to

standstill August 11. BTC workers staged a similar action in
Freeport, Grand Bahamas, the nation,s second city, August 12
and rumors were circulating that the union was planning to
choke roads to Nassau,s airport. Unions claim to support
the goal of privatization but accuse the government of
excluding them from relevant negotiations. BTC management
and government officials expressed surprise, suggested the
opposition Progressive Labour Party was behind the spate of
actions and termed the events unlawful, unhelpful, and
disruptive of the greater economy. The government ministers
characterized the BTC workers as misguided and
self-defeating, and even thankless in the case of BTC, whose
workers received large payouts from the previous FNM
administration in advance of planned privatization, which the
PLP administration put on hold. BTC management filed an
injunction August 13 to force a halt to similar labor
disturbances, which the court granted.

-------------- --------------
LABOR MINISTRY OFFICIAL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RESOLUTION
-------------- --------------

4. (C) A senior official in the Ministry of Labor told
PolOff he was sanguine about quick resolution of the BTC
issue, calling the unusually high-profile union actions
unjustified and ascribing them to union leadership posturing
in advance of national elections early next year. He felt
labor would be easily (and quietly) mollified by the GCOB in
this case, as a judge had quickly ruled in favor of
management and public reaction to the disruptive
demonstrations was not entirely favorable. With respect to
Morton Salt, he was also optimistic, saying that negotiations
were continuing, with a management delegation coming to
Nassau from the U.S. to continue talks. He decried what he
saw as an unnecessarily adversarial approach from labor, even
taking into account their fear of &union-busting8 in the
case of the dismissed worker. He pointed to inadequate
engagement of lower management with other issues which were
&allowed to fester8 and contributed to the strike, also
citing indiscipline and lack of trust between labor and
management. He called it a &unique case8, as Great Inagua
is a basically one-company island with about a thousand
residents.


5. (C) COMMENT: GCOB reaction to the spate of labor action
has been muted, perhaps due to Prime Minister Ingraham,s
absence from The Bahamas on vacation. The unions may have
overplayed their hand; a public backlash for such harsh labor
action that immediately threatens the island,s tourism
lifeblood is not popular. If continued, labor activity such
as the firebombings on Great Inagua and the road blockage of
Bay Street and Atlantis Resort could give potential foreign
direct investors pause.
ZUNIGA-BROWN